Category: Game On

I’ve been pleased with Madden 2002 since the very second I purchased it in EB. It’s not often you get ?20 trade in for a year old title, however, and that stands as testimony to the standard of game that Madden 2001 was. That I can trade it in a year later and receive half it’s value back shows that it is indeed a worthy franchise!

As far as game play goes, the game is sensational. The “just one more go” factor of the Two Minute Drill is highly addictive – I’ve managed to turn a five minute game into an hour long session without realising it. I haven’t even got into my franchise mode yet – a sure fire way to lose yourself in a time warp.

I was a little misty eyed at trading in my copy of Madden 2001 before I’d managed a good run of seasons with my carefully built team.

This year I wont make the same mistake. And due to the fact that my girlfriend has found a sudden interest in Madden, I could get a couple of mates round and have the lot of us whiling those winter nights away in the virtual NFL.

The only thing that disappoints me so far is the in game music… compared to last year it just doesn’t have the same sense of attitude. I suppose this is a minor gripe, but I cant help but think that “Leave ’em in the dirt!” from Madden 2001 psyched you up more for a game than the fairly drab instrumentals featured in Madden 2002.

What a move! Sen-sational!

I don’t think anything Sony could have done would have had the same impact as the original PlayStation price cut a few years ago, but this comes pretty close.

The software line up for the coming two months is just unbelievable – must have titles like Tony Hawks 3, Wipeout Fusion, SSX Tricky and more will see the PS2 dominate the Xmas charts. The bundling opportunities are immense – a ?199 DVD enabled console, add to it a triple A title and a DVD and you have a total steal of a christmas present!

I wonder how Microsoft’s X-Box will cope when it comes – without DVD capability – and for ?299 in the uk, most likely.

After only three weeks, I’m sick of GT3.

Sounds amazing – you’d think I had over played it, but you’d be wrong, as I haven’t really done that much at all – my stats say I’m only at 17% or something like that. The problem is, I just cant bring myself to coast around lap after lap while the “Artificial Inteligence” cars glide around on their splines providing no challenge whatsoever.

With only six admittedly very nice looking cars to compete with, an endurance race can be a very lonely event indeed. I completed 40 circuits of the Seattle course in my Lotus Elise, almost two laps ahead of the nearest AI car – and the field included three corvettes – I expected much more of a challenge.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve bought essentially the same game three times now and I just feel, aside from the splendid graphics, that I deserved much more this time.

The PS2 with its Emotion Engine delivers an enriched, intelligent gaming experience… well that’s the premise, anyway – the reality is that I’m playing a nicer looking version of a game the PS1 could provide.

For now I’m back to Madden 2001 so I can at least warrant buying Madden 2002 in a months time, and Rumble Racing – which I haven’t quite finished yet.

I just hope GT4 wont take the joke any further.